The folk music scene has a growing number of successful folk duos, ensuring that you have to work hard to stand out from the crowd. Husband and wife duo Stu and Debbie Hanna certainly do that. They met through a Middlesbrough Youth Choir before both heading to London, Debbie to study classical music and opera while Stu dabbled in Punk bands. They were fortunate to have grown up in an area at a time when there was funding in Schools for free instrument tuition. Talking about first instruments, Stu recalls that his sister started violin lessons and he thought that if she could do that then so could he! He does play the violin albeit only on some of their albums, not live.
They started playing together after Debbie completed her studies and their debut album, On The Side, was released in 2004. I first saw them in 2006 at Show of Hands’ Abbotsbury Festival, and I liked their energy and made a note to keep an eye on them.
Fourteen years later they are back at the David Hall. This is their third time here during which time they have relocated to Cambridgeshire and now have an 8-year-old. Since their debut album, they have released ten more (plus an Ep), including two children’s albums. Most importantly, since that first album, they have forged a clear identity. The songs in the first set of their show are firmly rooted in the North East. They mix original compositions with songs by North Eastern writers and traditional folk songs. All songs are delivered in their own accents, complete with flattened vowels. I ask if they are concerned that their daughter would have a Cambridgeshire accent, but Stu assures me that she is getting lessons in Northernness!
The writing of Pitman Poet, Tommy Armstrong, has featured on several Megson albums and during the show, they treat us to Old Folk Tea from the In A Box album. The song has overtones of Mrs Merry’s Ball (a John Tams favourite) and gives an insight into the highlights of ‘ordinary life’ in the past.
Their presentation has evolved since those early years, and a couple of songs are preceded by a recorded spoken-word piece (a favour Debs called in from her actor Uncle John Fellows). In another song, Stu uses a looped sample of an e-bow; it is a bit risky, he admits later, as you can’t afford to get the timing wrong. They close the first set with the title track from their 2010 album The Longshot. This is Megson at their best, a story song with a bit of a nod to music hall humour, but also poignancy, without becoming maudlin and ultimately imbued with that spirit of hope. I suppose The Longshot could be considered a “proper” folksong as it sets the location, it tells a story and it has that little bit of grit to create a pearl. Importantly, when you see them live, Megson don’t overwhelm songs, the backing is there to provide texture, and there is a restraint which always lets the lyrics take centre stage.
If the first set was very much rooted in their native North East, the second set has a lighter feel. A Week Away In The Caravan seeks to extol the (debateable?) delights of caravanning. This is followed by a song set in their new home area of Cambridgeshire concerning the fictional exploits of a local Judo Club. For the record, Stu explains that there is no Barrington Judo Club, but there is a Karate Club.
One of the standout songs of the evening is Patterns, a song about the effect of the closures of the Steel Works and the loss of other jobs in North East and the impact this has on families. The song shows Debbie Hanna’s voice and the controlled power that she has from her Classical training. I asked her whether she has had to change any of the things from her course and she admits that she has had to unlearn certain vowel sounds, but she says the class taught her techniques that have helped support her voice when suffering from colds.
The last twelve months have been pretty busy for Megson, they have had three albums out, the acclaimed Con-tra-dic-shun as well as an album of Christmas songs (A Yuletide Carol) and Little Bird, their second album of children’s songs. This has meant that Stu hasn’t been involved in much production work, though he did find time to produce Odette Mitchell’s acclaimed debut album, Wildest Rose. They are unique in that they also do children’s concerts, and back home in Cambridgeshire, they go into Schools to do work. Stu feels it is essential that children should get a chance to hear Folk Music, something that has not always the case in a pressurised curriculum. Maybe, looking back at their schooling, it is also that sense of being in a position to give something back to schools that drives them to do this?
It is hard for young artists to establish themselves and to forge a career and it must be doubly hard in some ways if they are a married couple, balancing all that with bringing up a family, there can’t be much room for musical differences. You need to be able to grow and have a strong sense of who you are, something Megson have clearly found and continue to build upon that sense of identity. As the encore comes to an end, Stu ends in true rock and roll style by leaping in the air and landing on that firm base.
Megson are still on tour, head over to their website for more details: https://www.megsonmusic.co.uk/shows/